


handmade with love

by azunshi



Series: asanoya week 2020 [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22693780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azunshi/pseuds/azunshi
Summary: “It was kinda embarrassing how many people were confessing to me,” says Asahi. “I didn’t think that many people liked me.”“Seriously?” Nishinoya frowns. “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?”Asahi’s eyes round before a flustered laugh escapes him. "Oh, please, Noya!" His cheeks turn bright red. "Anyway, haveyougotten any?” he asks curiously.where Nishinoya Yuu attempts to get his crush to notice him on Valentine's Day with a small push in the right direction.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu
Series: asanoya week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882087
Comments: 28
Kudos: 219
Collections: Asanoya Week 2020





	handmade with love

**Author's Note:**

> i've wanted to write a valentine's day fic for my favs for awhile and looks like i finally had the opportunity ~~to write this a week before the v-day~~ to post this on feb 14th heheh.
> 
> before i let you off, just a heads-up that there's like 2 japanese terms used here but i've taken the liberty to include the meanings at the end note! anyway, i hope you'll enjoy this fic as much as i enjoyed writing it!

“Ryu, what should I do for Valentine’s Day next week?”

Nishinoya’s question throws Ryu off concentrating on planning his essay. He turns to Nishinoya, hoping it’s a prank of some sort only to find a steely and determined gaze staring back at him. His eyebrows arch on their own accord. Blinking a few times, he puts his pen down and faces his best friend beside him. “You don’t _have_ to do anything for Valentine’s Day,” he says hesitantly, “other than hope a girl gives you chocolates. But … may I know why you’re suddenly interested in it?” 

Nishinoya sighs longingly, propping his chin on his hand as he stares at something—or someone?—across the room. Ryu follows his gaze but is somewhat dismayed to see that there are a few groups of students clustered here and there at the tables ahead. “There’s someone from my class,” begins Nishinoya, still staring ahead, “an exchange student who started a few weeks ago.”

“Ah.” Ryu nods. “And what about this exchange student person you’ve had your eye on?”

“He’s _perfect_ , Ryu,” sighs Nishinoya, a dreamy look overtaking his expression. “He’s from some prestigious American university and on top of being really smart, he’s tall and handsome and … his voice, Ryu, it’s deep and rich and sexy and he always speaks in this, like, low tone and it drives me nuts —“ 

Ryu’s eyes grow wider as Nishinoya continues to ramble on about what he finds attractive about his crush. Though this sort of explained why Nishinoya seemed so distracted lately, he had not expected _this_ to be the reason. After all, he’s witnessed Nishinoya being ‘in love’ a few times back in high school; back then, whenever he thought a girl was cute, he’d go out of his way to win her heart, which honestly didn’t take much considering he was quite popular then. But this Nishinoya, pining and thoughtful, was new to Ryu and so was Nishinoya liking a boy, even though he had come out as bisexual last year.

“What can I do so he’ll notice me?” Nishinoya’s voice cuts into Ryu’s thoughts. 

“Notice you?” Ryu turns to where Nishinoya was staring moments ago. “Actually, could you point out who this crush of yours is?” he whispers, ducking his head low towards Nishinoya when someone glared at him for talking a little louder than acceptable. “I’ve been trying to figure who it is but there’s so many people there. It could be anyone —“

Propping up his iPad, Nishinoya points discreetly over its edge at a group of three boys huddled together at the table near the window. “The one with the man bun,” he says, voice barely above a whisper. It’s hard to discern whether Man Bun is good-looking as his back is facing them although he has broad shoulders and a build that suggests he goes to the gym regularly.

“His name is Asahi,” says Nishinoya reverently.

“Oh.” Ryu frowns. “I was kind of expecting him to have an English name, to be honest.” When Nishinoya frowns at him, he puts his hands up in apology. “You did say he was from America and I assumed.”

“Well, his family must be living in America,” says Nishinoya before he lapses into a brief, thoughtful silence. “Asahi,” he sighs as his eyes gleam fervently in Asahi’s general direction. 

Ryu tries not to gag at how cheesy this moment is; he really thought this kind of thing happened in those romantic movies Saeko sometimes forces him to watch with her. “Are you going to sit there and repeat his name over and over again until he hears you or …?”

Color spills into Nishinoya’s cheeks. “Look, I love his name, okay? It suits him so well.”

“How exactly does it ‘suit him well’?”

Nishinoya rolls his eyes. “It means morning sun, doesn’t it? And the reason why I think it suits him well is because he literally _is_ a sun. To me, anyway,” he adds indignantly when Ryu gives him a funny look.

“… Ok,” responds Ryu, unsure of whether he should find this situation amusing or concerning.

“You’re laughing at me.” 

“I’m not!”

“Yeah, sure you’re not.” Nishinoya makes a face at him.

“Ok, so what if I am?” Ryu shakes his head, grinning in amusement. Nearby, someone shushes at them; they must’ve been speaking a bit louder than acceptable in the library. “Man, I was starting to think I’m the only one who acts like buffoon when I have a massive crush on someone,” whispers Ryu after he and Nishinoya agree to leave the library.

The exit is the other way so they will have to pass by Asahi and his friends. Wondering how Nishinoya would react if they passed by Asahi, Ryu makes sure to take the lead as they walk past the tables towards the exit. As they approach Asahi, Ryu sneaks a sidelong glance at Nishinoya and almost guffaws. Nishinoya looks so ridiculous like that, flushed with his eyes wide with fearful anticipation and hopeful excitement.

The noise Ryu makes is a badly suppressed wheeze, which immediately earns him a punch in the arm from Nishinoya. At the same time, he catches the attention of the others nearby, including Asahi, who looks over his shoulder curiously.

Perfect may have been an overstatement by Nishinoya but Ryu will acknowledge that Asahi is handsome in a rugged sort of way. Deep set eyes framed by long eyelashes, thick eyebrows, a defined jawline and a plump lower lip. He even sports a goatee, which makes him cooler and reminds Ryu a bit of a samurai (and kind of makes him feel like a slug next to Asahi). Had Ryu not heard about him from Nishinoya and saw him in the street, he’d have thought either Asahi was a model or he’s just a ridiculously good-looking thug. He wouldn’t be surprised if Asahi had a lot of admirers in and out of class.

All Ryu could think was _Noya-san has no chance with this guy_ but the moment Asahi’s gaze lands on Nishinoya’s, he lights up with a smile. It’s a sweet one that reaches his eyes, making it crinkle at the sides, changing his serious expression into a warm one.

Nishinoya makes some kind of choked but happy noise as he waves at Asahi before dragging Ryu by the sleeve out of the library. When the door slams shut behind them, Nishinoya is breathless and flushed. “You saw him, right?” he demands, eyes wide.

“Saw him?” Ryu echoes. He thinks about the way Nishinoya and Asahi looked at each other. “He’s into you,” he says and for a moment, he thought he said something other than what he thought he said because Nishinoya blanches.

“What?” Nishinoya’s voice goes all high and tinny. “That’s not — Ryu, _don’t fuck around!_ ”

“I’m not!”

Nishinoya turns red as quickly as he had paled. Without another word, he flounces off and leaves Ryu staring after him, agape. When Ryu catches up with him, he seems flustered and confused, muttering under his breath. 

“Noya, what’s wrong?”

Nishinoya stops in his tracks. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up!” he exclaims, voice echoing off the corridor. “Do you have any idea how many people in my class are interested in him?”

“More than enough.”.

“It’s just … I don’t get why you’d think he’s into me,” says Nishinoya, frowning. “I mean, he seems friendly enough when we talk and stuff but … I don’t get hints like that!”

Ryu finds it ironic how people who are interested in each other will always miss out signals from each other while people around them can tell they’re into each other. “I saw the way he looked at you,” he says. “When we were leaving,” he adds when Nishinoya opens his mouth to argue. “Look we can fight about this all day but we’re wasting precious time.”

Nishinoya frowns, puzzled. “What precious time?” His eyes widen when Ryu pokes his chest. 

“The time you'll be using to make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your man.”

* * *

On Valentine’s Day, chocolates are traditionally meant to be given to a person for whom one has romantic feelings. However, in Japan, it’s the girls or the women who do the giving of chocolates. Nishinoya doesn’t care about societal norms but what would Asahi think of it? Would Asahi be surprised to receive a boy’s gift among those from his female admirers or would he be flattered that Nishinoya was brave enough to give him something to express his feelings?

“You’re overthinking this,” says Ryu, watching as Nishinoya rereads the label on the packet for the fifth time, upside down out of nerves. “Look, you don’t have to buy super expensive chocolate for Asahi. As long as it comes from the heart, I’m sure he’d love it.”

“It’s not that.” Nishinoya puts the chocolate packet back on the shelf; it’s too much for what his budget can allow for, anyway. “It’s just … won’t he think it’s weird?” 

“Nah, he won’t. I’m pretty sure he’ll think it’s awesome,” opines Ryu. “Besides, aren’t people more openminded about same sex relationships in America?”

“Maybe,” mumbles Nishinoya as he looks at his basket. There’s a packet of dried fruit, a bag of marshmallows and some M&Ms. He had considered buying Asahi one of those expensive-looking chocolates on sale at the other store but Saeko and Ryu thought it’d be better if he made some for Asahi instead. Aside from lower costs, the Tanaka siblings argued that it will look more sincere and hence, increase his chances of being noticed by Asahi. Of course, there’s no harm in trying his luck but really, Nishinoya swears he’ll be heartbroken for awhile if his romantic endeavors go unnoticed and unappreciated.

As he reaches for the next brand of couverture chocolate, coincidentally the last of its kind, only for someone to grab it before he does. This isn’t the first time something he was looking for was snatched right before his eyes. Frightened by the ferocious single-mindedness of female customers in his vicinity, he grabs another brand of chocolate before anyone else does.

“Damn, I hope the chocolate turns out alright,” he says anxiously as he puts his purchases in his backpack. “I’ll never forgive myself if it tastes horrible.”

“Or if he’s deathly allergic to one of the ingredients,” suggest Ryu brightly.

“No, don’t say that! What if you jinx it and he really dies then I’ll never be able to know if he really likes me or not!”

They bicker good-naturedly until they reach their shared apartment. Since Valentine’s Day is in a few days (and Nishinoya probably needed practice to ensure his chocolates were edible), they decided to try one or two recipes they found on the internet the other day.

The videos on the internet make the whole process of making chocolates seem deceptively simple; Nishinoya wonders if he’ll encounter any problems later on. He never knows if it’ll end disastrously, like the last time he attempted to make cookies but they turned out as hard as rocks and his sister had joked they could be used as paperweights until they go bad.

“It’s fine if it doesn’t turn out great,” assures Ryu as he rolls up his sleeves. “You have your taste-tester right here!” He points at himself with a smug grin.

“If there’s anyone I’m poisoning from horrible chocolates in this room, it’s me,” says Nishinoya but he’s grateful for his best friend’s support. 

After putting the couverture chocolates in a piping bag, they place the bags in a pot of hot water to melt the chocolate, occasionally squeezing the bag to break up the chunks inside. Once the chocolate has melted all the way, they squeeze it out on a chocolate mold. They decide not to try anything too difficult, like making designs and decorating it. The chocolate cools surprisingly fast, even in room temperature and it isn’t long till it’s hardened enough to be eaten.

Exchanging looks, they break their experimental chocolate into half and take a huge bite.

“Ok, I don’t know why I was expecting anything horrible,” begins Nishinoya once he swallows, “but this tastes alright.”

“Exactly,” agrees Ryu as he takes another bite. “See, what were you so nervous about? You’ve been eating homemade chocolates since high school when girls used to give them to you on Valentine’s Day.” 

Reassured that his chocolate doesn’t taste horrible (or will kill Asahi), he spends the rest of the day in a positive mood. He comes up with a few designs for his chocolate, drawn on paper, which he shows to Ryu. After much consideration, Ryu tells him he’ll reserve his input till after he’s made the chocolates. “I know you’re no Picasso but your drawing skills leave much to be desired,” says Ryu.

Though the worst of his worries are no longer, Nishinoya’s gift feels a little incomplete so he decides to write a note to attach to the chocolate for Asahi to read. He makes a couple of drafts to express his feelings but there’s only so many different versions he can write before he takes a look back at them later that night and thinks _Blegh_ . What _is_ this sappy and overrated stuff he wrote about Asahi’s eyes? And couldn’t he be more original instead of writing that _Roses are red_ English poem? Don’t even get started on this bit about Asahi’s … _package_.

It’s only then does Nishinoya realize he’s been taking all these Valentine’s Day gifts he received over the past years for granted. It must’ve taken quite a lot for those girls to make (or buy) these chocolates, write a heartfelt message and give them to him directly. And how they must’ve felt when he didn’t give them anything back on White Day—he knows it would’ve taken up a sizable chunk of his allowance to give them all but he could’ve at least given something for one of the girls he actually liked.

He looks back at all the crumpled paper, hands folded behind his head, with a frown. What can he write to Asahi to convey his feelings? Flowery language isn’t his forte nor would Asahi be comfortable with the more risque messages. It takes him a couple minutes of drumming his pen against his temple to gently thumping his forehead in frustration on his desk before he gets a eureka moment.

Shooting up, he grabs the little card he bought the day before yesterday and his pen. With a hammering heart, he writes his message carefully and hopes Asahi can see the sincerity behind his words.

* * *

The moment Nishinoya wakes up the following week on Valentine’s Day, the mix of excitement and dread that’s been lurking around hits him with the force of a speeding truck. It’s today, it’s today, it’s today. The day he’ll finally confess to Asahi and see if Ryu was right—though he’s afraid to admit aloud, he hopes Asahi likes him back. 

Last night, he and Ryu made more chocolates than necessary to see how his designs would look in real life. Thankfully, they turned out nicely unlike how his drawings looked. Although he’d give Asahi all of the chocolates, he chose two out of the ten designs he came up with. The first one was a dark chocolate bar decorated with an assortment of red jelly bears and crushed almonds. The second bar was made of strawberry-flavored chocolate, with swirls of white chocolate to create a marbling effect, and garnished with dried strawberries.

“They’re too pretty to be eaten,” sighs Ryu as he admires the rest of the chocolate.

“You can keep them.” When Ryu stares at him, openmouthed, Nishinoya adds, “Look, you came up with the brilliant idea so you should at least have some of it.”

“Yeah but six bars to myself … might end up having diabetes,” says Ryu thoughtfully but it’s obvious from the way he’s grinning that tells Nishinoya he’s more than delighted. 

After bidding his roommate goodbye, Nishinoya makes his way to his first lecture of the day, which happens to also be the lecture Asahi will be attending as well. His mind buzzes with hundreds of scenarios that could unfold and plans on how to overcome any setbacks but when he arrives at the lecture theater, all of his thoughts disappear. He becomes acutely aware of how sweaty his palms are and how his heart seems to be hammering in his throat.

Swallowing back his nervousness, he makes his way to his usual spot and takes his things out. All around him, Asahi’s admirers whisper excitedly amongst themselves. They fall silent when the door opens, turning in their seats in hopes they’d see Asahi entering then return to their hushed conversations when it isn’t him coming in. Nishinoya hears snatches of their discussion, about how they took all week perfecting their recipes, how much they spent on the chocolates and all other kinds of details.

Though Nishinoya tells himself firmly that the only thing that matters is his sincerity when he made those chocolates, he can’t help feeling insecure about his chocolate when he hears about what the others have to boast about theirs.

The doors behind open and the conversations stop, before rising with excitement. Heart leaping in his throat, Nishinoya turns to see Asahi. He let his hair down today, wavy locks falling to his shoulders—Nishinoya swears his soul almost left his body. Asahi’s admirers seem to lunge out of their seats as they clamber over to present him with their gifts.

Nishinoya’s muscles twitch as he makes to get up only to sit back down. As much as he wants to go up there and give Asahi his chocolates, he doubts he’d be able to make it. So he forces himself to face the front and stay put. After a few moments, when Asahi’s successive Thank You’s have subsided, someone comes to sit in his row. He glances sideways.

Over the past few weeks since Asahi came, he’s gotten used to Asahi sitting in the same row as he is. A few times Asahi had to sit beside him (and in those times, Nishinoya could never focus on the lecture, torn in between the urge to make small talk or to casually brush hands). Today is one of the days Asahi sits next to him.

“Hey, Noya,” says Asahi, his arms laden with all the gifts he received. “Do you mind if I sit here?” he asks, even though Nishinoya has told him many times before that he didn’t mind at all.

 _Oh, you could sit on my face and I wouldn’t mind a single bit at all_ , thinks Nishinoya but he manages to say, “Sure thing.”

Flashing a grateful smile, Asahi takes a seat. Watching him struggle to open his bag, Nishinoya offers to hold the gifts for him. “Ah, you’re too kind to me,” says Asahi with an embarrassed laugh.

“No, no, you’re alright,” says Nishinoya, fighting the urge to dump Asahi’s gifts in the empty seat in front of him. The only gift that Asahi needed was his, after all. And then it hits him; how is he going to give Asahi his gift? He missed his chance earlier, no thanks to Asahi’s admirers, but should he give it to him now while Asahi is distracted? Crap, his bag is on the floor so there’s no way he could reach his hand, or foot, into it and sneak his gift among the others’ —

“It was kinda embarrassing how many people were confessing to me,” says Asahi, already straightening up with his tablet laying on his lap. “I didn’t think that many people liked me.”

“Seriously?” Nishinoya frowns as he returns Asahi’s gifts to him. “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?”

Asahi’s eyes round before a flustered laugh escapes him. "Oh, please, Noya!" His cheeks turn bright red. “Anyway, have _you_ gotten any?” he asks curiously.

It’s Nishinoya’s turn to be surprised. “Me?” Asahi nods and he can’t help blushing furiously. Why did Asahi want to know, anyway? “Ah, no, I didn’t,” replies Nishinoya, “but I —” His voice dies in his throat. Asahi, who is leaning slightly towards him, raises his eyebrows. Nishinoya tries to continue where he left off but his mouth refuses to shape the words.

 _But I was thinking of giving you something too_.

How could he even bring himself to say the words? Asahi, whom Nishinoya had tried getting to know since the moment he laid eyes on him, thought of him as a friend. He didn’t know anything about the way Nishinoya’s heart leapt whenever they were close, how his insides twisted whenever they talked for the fear of saying the wrong thing, how ecstatic he felt whenever he made Asahi smile or laugh and how often he thought about him. Though Nishinoya hoped Asahi would consider him more than a friend, he was afraid of being rejected. He’d never be able to look at Asahi in the eye.

In his mind, Ryu’s words from last night come back to him. “I saw the way he looked at you,” he said after Nishinoya finished venting about his worries. “Trust me, he’s into you!”

 _If he’s wrong about this_ , Nishinoya thinks, _I’m never taking advice from him ever again_.

“Actually,” he manages although his voice comes out tremulous. Asahi perks up; Nishinoya almost wishes he hadn’t heard so he could prepare (read: worry). “I …” he says but stops, not trusting himself to speak. Instead, he bends down and gropes blindly for his bag before he finds it. Putting it onto his lap, he unzips it with shaky hands and pulls out the chocolates he made. He doesn’t look at Asahi, he can’t, so he looks at Asahi’s forehead instead as he gives them to him.

A long moment of silence passes between them.

“It’s for you,” says Nishinoya. Why does his mouth feel so dry? And can Asahi say something already so he won’t piss himself out of the suspense?

Asahi’s eyes are wide as he stares at Nishinoya’s chocolates. “Oh,” he says, his voice sounding different than usual. “Is this … _tomo-choco_?” he asks.

Nishinoya almost screams; does it really look like the kind of chocolate one would give to friends? “ _It’s honmei choco_ ,” he clarifies. Asahi raises his head to look at him, his face a mask of shock and disbelief. “It’s okay if you don’t want it,” says Nishinoya hurriedly. “And if you want me to back off, I totally understand —”

“Noya.” The mention of his nickname on Asahi’s lips effectively shuts him up. Asahi is smiling at him, eyes crinkled at the sides, the sight making Nishinoya’s heart flip in his chest. “This is the loveliest gift I’ve received today. Thank you so much.” he says.

Overwhelmed, Nishinoya tries to come up with a smart reply but the only sentence that comes out of him is a flustered, “Asahi, you didn’t have to.” He’s a hundred percent certain his face has gone embarrassingly red so his hands flutter up to cover his cheeks. Crap, since when did the room get so hot all of a sudden? 

“And your chocolates are really pretty too,” adds Asahi before Nishinoya can fully recover from his compliment. He admires it once again, unaware of how Nishinoya is internally dying from happiness beside him. “Oh, what’s this?”

Nishinoya almost squeaks when Asahi reads the card attached to the chocolates. Asahi’s eyes widen when the faint flush creeping up his cheeks—Nishinoya just noticed that—deepens in color. He forces himself to remain still instead of flapping about and screaming, his resolve nearly breaking when Asahi looks at him. 

A heartbeat passes before Asahi leans forward; Nishinoya almost dies on the spot. “I like you too,” he whispers loud enough for only the two of them to hear.

 _That’s it_ , Nishinoya thinks, I’ve lived a good life. The gods could strike him down at this moment and he wouldn’t care about his premature death because Asahi likes him back. Asahi’s heart chose him, out of all the people he could have chosen. It’s the only thing that matters to him, not the fact that the lecture has already started, not the feeling of his facial muscles cramping from him smiling like an utter idiot and certainly not the weight of jealous gazes of Asahi’s admirers.

“Does this mean I can hold your hand?” squeaks Nishinoya out the corner of his mouth after the two of them reluctantly face the front. It’s a silly question but it’s something he was always tempted to do whenever they sat together like this.

To his joy, Asahi whispers, “You can hold my hand any time you like.”

Nishinoya doesn't hesitate to put his hand over Asahi’s.

**Author's Note:**

> japanese terms  
>  **友チョコ：ともちょこ | tomo-choco** chocolate that is exchanged between friends on valentine's day  
>  **本命チョコ：ほんめいちょこ | honmei-choco** chocolate that is traditionally given by a girl/woman to a person whom she has romantic feelings for
> 
> edit: SO MY GOOD FRIEND RED MADE A FANART FOR THIS YOU CAN CHECK IT [HERE](https://twitter.com/CelesMochi/status/1228320109858455553)
> 
> thank you so much for reading ♥  
> [[twitter]](https://twitter.com/azunshi)  
> [[tumblr]](https://avatarclub.tumblr.com)


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